Maia Monasterios has been making documentary films for over twelve years. She has worked for companies ranging from National Geographic to MTV, but had the desire to do her own independent work. Her latest project is an independent documentary film titled Time is Art, where she is working with the creative collective Things are Changing. They are raising funds for the film until August 2, 2015 on IndieGogo.

The film is about a writer’s spiritual and creative awakening through synchronicity as the gateway. Originally, the story wasn’t going to be about one person. It was going to be a set of interviews on the subject of synchronicity. That is, until they interviewed Jennifer Palmer and heard her story.

Jennifer Palmer

Jennifer was working in the corporate world until she had a mystical experience while watching her aunt die. She was drawn to her aunt’s bed side at the moment she died, and felt an energy leave her body. It was so tangible that it opened her up to the non-physical spiritual realm.

Jennifer is now spreading the message of synchronicity through her site Synchcast, where she allows people to host webinars that allow them to connect with their audience. She is also writing, doing podcasts, and writing a book about the conversations she had during her journey.

The Movie

Maia and the Things are Changing team are using this film as an opportunity to create workshops that allow people to co-create art and explore creativity. They want to help people find the artist within themselves and the creative spark that we all have inside of us.

Jim Henson

We talked about how Jim Henson was a great example of balancing making art and making money. In Elizabeth Hyde Stevens’s Make Art Make Money, you can learn how Henson built his empire by finding that balance.

Maia has been positively influenced by Jim Henson through his commercial work, which allowed him to fund his creative projects while also keeping his integrity.

Inidegogo Campaigns

At a certain point during the filming, they put the project on hold. During this time, Jennifer Palmer discovered that her friend was holding a synchronicity symposium in California. So they created a fundraising campaign to raise funds to go. While there, they teamed up with the organizers and filmed the speakers that were there. They also filmed many of the interviews that appear in the film.

They have a second Indiegogo campaign to put the finishing touches on the film. This will allow them to do color correction, special effects, and sound editing to put the finishing touches on it.

Knowing When to Change and Taking the Path Less Traveled

Maia spent years creating documentary films for other companies, but always felt the pull to create something of her own. At a certain point, people realize they are no longer happy doing what they are doing. They need a change. She realized her unhappiness started to outweigh her happiness. So she took the leap of faith to work on Time is Art.

This leap of faith often requires you to leave the life that you have become comfortable with. In order to do that, you must be willing to take a risk. Often times we let fear drive our behaviors, but if you want to take the path less traveled, you have to willing to face that fear.

Morning Routine

Maia likes to take time in the morning to meditate and explore her sense of gratitude. Unlike many people who try to rush out the door to go make money, she likes to reflect on her life, abundance, and energy. Another thing she has been doing on and off is the practice of bibliomancy. You do this by opening a book to a random page and reflect on what the page has to say about life.

Ways She Works on Creativity

The Artist’s Way introduced her to the daily practice of writing. A practice that helps to work out your creative muscle.

Group 101 was something she started to release content consistently. Every member of the group had to create a short film every 30 days to show to the public. The point of this was to practice creating and become better at their craft with very few resources. She did this for a year, which allowed her to move to New York City and take on bigger projects.

Creative Influence

She admires David Lynch because of his vision and creativity, and his ability to get his projects funded by Hollywood. Lynch credits transcendental meditation for all of his creativity. It allows him to dive into the depths of the unconscious, and explore pure imagination.

Definition of Creativity and How to be More Creative

“My definition of creativity is the full expression of our imagination, of who we truly are as beings.”

“It’s like tapping into that divine spark because we were created to be creators. And to be able to get that and be in touch with the limitless possibilities of that and our imagination and to be fearless and fully expressed.”

“Trusting ourselves. Trusting that whatever that we are imagining is valuable. That whatever makes us passionate and excited about life and willing and desiring to express it. That’s valuable… I think the more we trust, the more we’ll be fearless to be self expressed, and that’s really the heart of creativity.”

“It’s not creativity until you put it on paper, until you share it with someone, until you make something from it.”